I was worried that the squaddies might have connections with the few families I had annoyed. Through no fault of my own, I might add. I just didn't understand why they were opposed to my fascination with their female relatives. It turned out that these particular lads were just curious about my reasons for going on this expedition. I was also busy speculating on the other team members' reasons for scarpering from Smoke. Pixie was going to be a problem for a start, the short rotund guy and the miserable cow with him were there, apparently, to fulfil the conditions of a relatives will. The only other female team members were Gillian Morgan a biologist and Toyna O'Hooligan a journalist.

But these last two, I suspect, were not what they seemed to be. The fact was that there was usually some politics going on in the background and I was wondering about this mysterious government department. Was the Library involved I wondered? This was enough to make anyone nervous. The Library Secret Police were legendary for being ruthless in their acquisition of books and vid-disks. As for overdue library books, well that just didnPiss them off and face the consequences on your own, because your mates are going to scarper if they know what's good for them. Best way to find out would be to pump them, for information of course. Mind you if they did offer anything else, well pillow talk was a viable source of information. That thought cheered me up enormously and I decided the journalist who was small but attractive, nice face, good body (as far as I could tell) permanent winter clothing was a bit of a bind for a lusty lad like me.

Journal ends

As the skidder got under way, its pilot ordered the group onto the deck and growled,

“Right, the 'Lady Jane's got an onboard computer that runs everything necessary to keep us going.”
He glared at them,

“You do not under any circumstances enter areas that are marked 'Skidder Personnel Only'. Stay out of my way and we'll get along swimmingly. Got it?”
They muttered their assent and scurried back below decks to their cabins. Sarge stayed on deck and grinned at his brother,

“Your bark's as bad as every, Jack.”
Smith nodded absently then said,

“Joe, fancy a shot of rum? I need to talk to you.”
In the pilot's cabin, Joe sat on a pile of rope and said,

“What's up Jack? Oh thanks.”
He took the shot glass, swigged it back in one gulp and smiled,

“No. Listen, have you ever heard rumours about people turning up in Smoke that everyone thought were lost or dead on expeditions?”

“With the bloody Advisory running everything? Summat like that might upset folk. I have heard whispers around the pubs. But like I said, the Advisory's got snouts all over the place.”

“Exactly. Well the rumours are true. According to my onboard logs I never went any further than a thousand miles out.”

“But you rigged the logs and went further out?”

“S'right. Some of the shit I've seen is going to phase even you. As for the civvies, well I hope they're going to be of some help in a scrap.”

“Okay Jack – what the hell's out there?”
Jack said quietly,
“Back in 2201 I was registered as Edward Jones because of certain items I was bringing back from The Euro Federal States. Don't give me that look Joe, you're no saint yourself. Anyway I was setting a course for Albion when I noticed a sail out to the north. It was closing in on the EFS coast but slowly, seemed to be in trouble. I went over to see if I could help. As I got closer I could see it was a Hawker Class One Skidder, the 'Davenport'. I remembered it was part of an expedition that was lost with all hands back in 2190. At least that's what they told us.”

Jack spat on the cabin floor,

“What they told us was bullshit. The 'Davenport' had survived the trek to the Colonies and found out a few things on the way as well. Frog warriors for a start. Yeah, sounds daft don't it? Well in the marshlands out there, frogs would be ideal for the terrain. Ever tried training a frog? Me neither but I can tell you this; some scientists have been working in a complex out in Mid-Atlantic and they're developing the kind of nightmares you wouldn't believe. The skidder had three survivors and its skipper told me about them. He gave me the location of the complex.”

“What about the 'Davenport'?” asked his brother,

“Oh yeah. Well I helped them back to Albion, turned around and headed out again, towards the Colonies.”

* * *

Jenny Cringe found the galley, opened cupboard doors and scanned the utensils racks. A voice from the door said,

“Find anything interesting?” She turned and saw the biologist, Morgan, standing arms folded a quizzical smile on her face.

“Hmm, everything's in very good condition. Most of it's new and there's plenty of spare cooking gear.”